When a customer visits a movie theater, the process typically involves purchasing a “ticket” at the ticket booth and having the ticket “torn” when the customer enters the theater. A ticket serves as a physical proof of purchase for the right to view a particular movie. When a ticket is claimed by entering the theater and being torn, the ticket is thought to be redeemed by the customer presenting the ticket and henceforth the viewing rights granted by the ticket are owned by that customer.
In a digital multimedia playback system, viewing rights are generally governed by possession of physical media that contains digital content. When the content is not tied to physical media, such as when digital content is streamed over a network, a digital rights management (DRM) system is often used to restrict access to the content. Such systems typically involve user accounts and associating purchased content with a user account. A playback device may be registered to a user account and then have access to the content purchased under that user account.